Cocktail Friday: Honey Rhubarb Martini

My sister, Rebecca (who also blogs here), will be taking the reigns on Fridays for a while and I am SO excited about it! Armed with her trusty iPhone and lots of Happy Hour experience, I know she will be bringing some great stuff to Set the Table! This time, she and my mom teamed up to bring us this beautiful Honey Rhubarb Martini.

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My mom and sister cook the same way. They throw things together without thinking too hard about it; they sense it. Meanwhile, I'm leaning over their shoulder like a pest asking,

"Why are you doing that?"

"Is it really supposed to look like that?"

"Are you sure it'll turn out? What if it doesn't turn out?"

They cook the way I play music. The next chord is a four chord and the next is a minor sixth and there is a little change in rhythm here and let's throw in a seventh chord here. I can't explain it. I sense it. When you feel like that about something, pay attention. It probably means you've found the thing you are supposed to be doing.

Last night, my mom improvised a cocktail out of one of the only things ready to pick in our Minnesota garden: rhubarb. At first, it was going to be a rhubarb margarita but, by the time she was done, it was a gorgeous, cold, pink rhubarb martini.

And as always, it was delicious.

Honey Rhubarb Martini

Makes 2 cocktails

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup rhubarb cubes
• 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
• 3 shots vodka
• 2 shots rhubarb syrup
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 large lumps ice

Instructions

For the Simple Syrup:

For the cocktail:

1. In a small saucepan, combine the honey, water, rhubarb cubes, and grated ginger.
2. Heat and stir at medium heat until the rhubarb is soft.
3. Place hot saucepan into a larger bowl filled with ice.
4. When cooled, strain into a small jar or pitcher.
5. In a cocktail shaker, combine the ice, vodka, rhubarb syrup and lime juice.
6. Shake until well chilled and pour into your favorite martini glasses.
7. Garnish with fresh lime and/or rhubarb.